UPDATE 1/5/2020: THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN ENTIRELY SUPERSEDED BY OUR NEW ONE LINKED HERE, WHICH SUMMARIZES AND CRITIQUES A DRAFT REPORT.
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“The Task Force shall submit a final report to the Governor and the General Assembly outlining short-term and long-term administrative, electoral, and legislative changes needed to create short-term and long-term property tax relief for homeowners by December 31, 2019.” – Public Act 101-0181
Would it be too much to ask why it’s late and when we can expect it? We’ve seen no answers from anybody.
Is it because of the unwieldy size of the task force — over 80 members?
Is it because those members are mostly the same folks who created our crisis? You can see that list here.
Or maybe there’s a good explanation. It’s just that somebody should be offering one.
-Mark Glennon
Fair to a government worker is 3 times what the Poor Taxpayer makes for only 1/2 the work.
There is no such thing as FAIR to a government employee. Once the tasted the blood of the taxpayer they never stop eating the flesh.
The number 1 reason for high taxes is the GREEDY government worker and the HUGE PENSIONS at young ages. Many of them move south to get away from Illinois. You have to be stupid to stay and take the beating that is coming fast. Run for you economic life.
Here’s the deal: Schools are the #1 driver of high property taxes. The #1 way to fix this – absent freezing our already extremely high spending on education – is to replace property tax dollars with state dollars. We all know this. You don’t need a task force to figure it out.
JB wants and needs every penny from the Fair Tax. He has no intention of exchanging state dollars for property tax dollars. He’s not interested in a zero-sum game with income and property taxes. He wants more, and more wont lower property taxes.
No way I’m exchanging my local property tax dollars for state tax dollars. Springfield will first take its skim and then find a way to redistribute to poorer, more Democratic voting areas for ‘equitable’ reasons, and devalue the only thing – the good local schools – that keep my home value stable. Those local tax dollars definitely create an unequal (not inequitable) situation where many suburban schools are top performers, and others are just truly awful, but the states that redistribute tax dollars to ensure equal and equitable funding, like Texas, aka the “Robin Hood” formula where expenditures are capped… Read more »
Youze wants us’s report? Shaddaup youze chumbolones, gets back to works ands hands overs youze tax dollars.
Has anyone suggested forcing teachers to participate in social security?
12.4% of every, for example, nurse’s salary is forced by law to be paid into social security right off the top (6,2% from nurse, 6.2% from employer).
There is a formula as to SS payouts.
By shifting a portion of teachers defined benefits in part to social security, there may be no “impairment ‘ of Constitutional guarantees?
I think the answer is based on that matter of impairment. To be OK with the courts, the total net benefits from SS and whatever is left of pension benefits would have to be at least as great as they now get just with their pensions. That is, the courts have basically said that the total package, including how much the pensioners have to contribute, can’t be impaired. If you forced them into SS, I expect that the state would have to cover the employees’ SS contribution and/or leave intact enough pension benefits to keep the package equal to what… Read more »
Mark. I recall reading sometime back that when someone opts out of SS and Med the state or municipality that they are opting into must provide equal benefits but not less. It did not say greater than which is the case for almost everyone. If it is less than and there are penalties. I believe this is a Federal or IRS requirement but not sure. It may be under the “Safe Harbor” provision. Tier 2 will probably fall into the “under” category because some of their money is diverted to Tier 1. It seems logical that taxpayers should only be… Read more »
Agreed, and you are right about the federal safe harbor requiring benefits at least as good as SS. But the point about our IL court decisions, interpreting our pension protection clause, is that it goes much further, requiring no impairment of the system in place when you first start work. That’s why the state constitution needs amendment.
“Requiring no impairment of the system in place when you first start work.” That’s a literally crazy interpretation that defies common sense. I can see not impairing past earned benefits, but the inability to even change pension plans in the future, simply because that person is an at-will employee of the state? That’s an absurd interpretation. Why can’t a current employee receive half his pension under the old plan, and then earn the remaining half of his pension under the new plan? A current employee’s benefits are not impaired, he or she has not even earned his future benefits yet,… Read more »
Do you think that the calculations to determine the pensions can be impaired. SS and most private plans are based on the average wages over the working career and do not replace or are intended to replace your wages for life. I think the calculations do not fall under the impair rule but as of now the pension itself is. Example. What’s to keep someone from deferring wages for 16 years and take a token $1.00/yr then take the average of deferred wages and add it to the last 4 years of say $500K/yr and that determines the pension. Taxpayers… Read more »
That’s essentially what spiking is to a lesser degree. Maybe a extreme abuse like you described could be challenged, but routine spiking appears safe. Whatever the formula is at the start is set for life. Getting it into federal court wouldn’t help much because, on this issue, they would have to apply state law which means following the existing state court decisions.
Yup, and that includes all other benefits attendant to membership in a pension, according to our court, including healthcare.
Mark-Good info at California Policy Center then search “spiking”
Agree strongly, but trying to figure out a novel method of execution.
Teachers exemption from SS dates back to its (SS) inception.
I think around 15 States have remained “opted-out” of S mandatory contributions.
What i am suggesting is a percentage that could be shifted from local responsibility to federal responsibility. It can be argued that SS supplies a formulaic percentage of earned income, which could meet a legal challenge, and put a current line in sand as to pension spiking going forward. As you know, Illinois required to minimally meet SS analog payments, so in a sense we taxpayers are paying a risk premium for allowing teachers the profitable luxury of evading that FICA contribution demanded of everyone else. Rather than asking Union consent for desperately needed survival measures needed by taxpayers, i… Read more »
no! the teachers should be paying at least 7% into retirement, not 2%. They should also pay a 3% catch up fee making their contribution 10%. That’s Fair!!!1
It would take a constitutional amendment to change any benefits to TRS and other pension benefits
My village newsletter came in the mail yesterday. On the front page it has the picture of a dollar bill and it’s cut into parts. it says “your town only gets $.08 of every $1.00 on your tax bill.” The county gets roughly the same, there’s the park district and library get a few pennies, but right in the middle of the picture of the dollar bill is outlined a BIG RED area that takes up $.73 of that dollar and in all capital letters is says “SCHOOLS” (being the elementary, high school and community college). Not sure if it’s… Read more »
I always like to read the personal experiences. That’s what gives this site a lot of value. I’m pretty sure it IS like this everywhere. At some point, it was decided that teachers and administrators would be paid ABOVE market for their skills and work. There are gym teachers in Illinois making $120,000 a year in retirement. I have NOTHING against people who chose teaching as a profession, but the compensation is completely out of whack with the rest of the labor market. Especially for administrators. Why are we paying principals 250K a year for work? Is that really commensurate… Read more »
Debtsor, I also appreciate the personal insights/info that someone like yourself (still living in Illinois) can offer in the comments. I’m only an occasional Illinois visitor these days.
I am in District 71 for elementary and 219 for HS. 71 is a single school,district with Superintendant, Principals, etc etc. This should be consolidated. 219 is just a joke when it comes to salaries. Has to be one of the highest paid in the state. And they just keep spending. A piece of property came up for sale contiguous to 219 Niles West. It wasn’t budgeted so they just used the money from elsewhere in the budget to buy it. They didnt even know what they were going to use it for but just had to have it because… Read more »
No one should hold his or her breath for this report. Even in the very unlikely event that IL implements significant property tax relief recommendations from the report, IL will gouge the taxpayer elsewhere to recoup the lost revenue. It has to be that way because IL can’t afford to lose that amount of revenue. Therefore, the question is: what’s the point of having this Task Force?
Answer is obvious. The task force is yet one more way for a group of people to justify getting a salary paid by tax dollars.
The point of the task force was to con Illinoisans into thinking there would be property tax relief so they’ll support the Blank Check Amendment
I agree with you and Mike. This is rubbing salt in the wounds of the IL taxpayer by having another valueless, bloated function being paid for by the taxpayer.
Ya know what 40 or more proposals B.S end it now permanent property tax freeze across the board. The only way to increase taxes is by voter referendums. Maybe this will force spending to get under control. Enough with the task force
Real reason,
THERE ALL TO STONED FRON JAN 1.
I gave my ideas to my local rep who is on the task force. Deadline was the 31st but there are many proposals at least 40 or more that have to be sifted thru. Will try to update when I know more on timeline.
Tax Farce.
I submitted detailed, source-cited TIF research and suggested TIF reforms to this commitee.
Crickets.
There’s a new tax on cricket chirps, so pay up
I would like to see, probably not possible, the amount in dollars the TIFs have one way or another drained the Schools and Pension funding.